The invention presented hereinafter resides in the art of article loading machines, and particularly for tools facilitating repairs to a loading grid. More specifically, the instant invention relates to a spring installation tool for an article loading machine of the nature presented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,034, and manufactured by Hartness International, Inc., of Greenville, S.C.
The grid recited directly above is shown in the prior art drawing of FIG. 1, wherein the case packer grid is designated generally by the numeral 10. This device includes a plurality of sets of guide fingers 12, of plastic construction, which are utilized for opening cartons for receiving bottles or other containers, and for guiding such bottles or containers into the proper carton positions. The sets of guide fingers 12 depend from a frame 14 which has mounted thereabove a plurality of grid plates 16. These plates operate as lane guides for receiving and channeling the bottles or other containers for proper positioning above the receiving carton.
With reference to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the sets of fingers 12 comprise, in this prior art embodiment, four fingers 18, two such fingers on each side of a mounting plate 20. A keeper ring 22 is received within a common groove about the fingers 18 in a set 12 and passes through a slot within the mounting plate 20 at spaced intervals therealong. The ring 22 provides a pivot point for each of the fingers 18 of a set 12, the finger being urged inwardly toward the center of the set when a bottle or other container passes thereagainst. It will be understood that such a container will pass through the area defined by four sets 12, riding against one finger 18 of each set. When the container contacts the fingers 18, the fingers are urged inwardly about the pivot point defined by the ring 22, and against the biasing of a bias spring 28 maintained about a groove 26. The groove 26 in each of the fingers 18 is a slight distance, approximately one-half inch, below the top rounded edges 24 of the fingers. This groove is maintained above the mounting plate 20 such that the spring 28 maintained therein may be operative for returning each of the fingers 18 to a normal or quiescent position following the depositing of a bottle or other container.
It should also be noted that a spacer 29, having an approximate thickness equivalent to that of the plate 20, is received over the plate 20 and between fingers 18 maintained on the same side of the plate. Thus, the combination of the spacer 29 and the plate 120 maintains each of the fingers 18 in a symmetrically spaced relationship with respect to each other and facilitates the pivoting of the fingers 18 about the ring 22.
With the fingers 18 being of plastic construction, and with the spring 28 being repeatedly flexed and maintained only by the groove 26, it is not uncommon for a finger 18 to break, or a spring 28 to become disengaged from its groove. In either situation, it is necessary to replace the biasing spring 28 such that normal operation of the case packer grid may be achieved. Unfortunately, the grid plates or lane guides 16 make it virtually impossible to gain access to the top ends 24 of the fingers 18. Consequently, replacement of a finger 18 or a spring 28 has, in the past, required removal of at least certain of the grid plates 16 to gain access to the tops of the fingers 18. Such removal and replacement of the grid plates results in a significant amount of down time for the packer and a consequent loss of production.